Everyone knows how difficult it can be to remove unwanted particulate materials (especially fibrous particulate matter such as lint, pills, fuzz, hair and other foreign artifacts) from the surface of fabrics, especially knit fabrics such as sweaters. Use of a lint roller made with an adhesive tape can be effective for loosely bound hair and lint, but the adhesive tends to have limited effectiveness at removing foreign artifacts from the surface depending on the type of garment, size of artifact and degree of entanglement of the artifact in the surface of the fabric. Adhesives are generally ineffective at removing pills from knit fabrics. Lint shavers also have proven to be effective at removing foreign artifacts from the surface of fabrics, but they have the significant drawback of risking damage to the garment from excessive cutting of the garment's fibers, yarns and textile surface.
It has been discovered by the present invention that certain open-cell foams, such as polyurethane and melamine foams, can be used to remove lint, pills, fuzz, hair and other foreign artifacts from the surface of fabrics, such as consumer garments. Such foams have the advantage of being effective at removing a broad range of unwanted materials from the surface of garments while having a low risk of damaging the garment in the process. For example, the use of open-cell foam minimizes the risk of cutting or snagging of certain textiles, such as knits, that would damage the garment being treated. Open-cell foams include melamine foams that can be used to safely and effectively to remove pills, lint, fuzz and hair from garments. An added benefit of using the present method of removing pills, lint, fuzz and hair from garments with an open-cell foam is that it restores the appearance of the garment to a newer looking or rejuvenated state, and can provide allergen reduction by removal of allergens (such as pet hairs) from the fabric.